A STUDY FROM California State University,
Northridge, cited by Joe Pinsker in The Atlantic

(April 2015), says that “wearing clothing that’s
more formal than usual makes people think
more broadly and holistically, rather than narrowly and about fine-grained details.” The study
suggests the old saw (paraphrased) is correct:
Clothes make the person.

FOR A SMALL business to thrive, everyone on the team needs to be highly
engaged in his or her work.

“The good news is that employeeengagement isn’t the result of expensiveperks or time-consuming programs,” saysCostco member Michael Lee Stallard, abusiness consultant and leadershiptrainer, and co-author of ConnectionCulture: The Competitive Advantageof Shared Identity, Empathy, andUnderstanding at Work (Association forTalent Development, 2015; not availableat Costco). “It comes from having a com-pany culture where people care abouteach other and about their work. In these‘connection cultures,’ people invest timeto develop healthy work relationships,and the resulting bond creates a sense ofconnection, community and unity thatenergizes the team and spurs productiv-ity and innovation.”Stallard offers the following tips.

Cast a clear vision. Employees are
more engaged in their work when they
understand the company’s mission, are
united by its values and are proud of its
reputation. Communicate goals clearly
and keep people in the loop.

Recognize the value of each individual. Your employees need to feel
respected and valued. Encourage
employees to express appreciation for
their colleagues’ contributions and help
others achieve their potential.

Give people a voice. Having a voice
in decisions empowers people to make a
difference. In connection cultures, people
seek the ideas of others, share their ideas
and opinions honestly and safeguard
relational connections by not cutting
others down when disagreements arise.

Be a servant leader. Connectioncultures need leaders who are willing toput the needs of others before their own.

Doing so gains the respect of employees
and encourages others to do the same.

Celebrate committed members.

People in your company who are committed to excellence and connection are the
heart of the company, and should be
encouraged and celebrated. C

EMOTIONS ARE IMPORTANT in business. They
contribute to being passionate and convincing in describing your business, aid your
ability to make decisions and are the
foundation of intuition. And, they can shape
the premises or assumptions you make in
dealing with people.

For example, if you need to collect money
from someone, the assumptions you make
shape the manner in which you seek to get
the money.

Consider each of these assumptionsabout a customer who doesn’t pay on time:

• I feel this customer is trying to get
away with as much as he can. I may never
get paid unless I go to court.

• I think this customer is having a hard
time making ends meet and feels bad about
being behind on bills. I wonder what kind of
arrangements we could make to help out.

• I don’t know why I am having difficulty
getting paid. I will contact the client and ask.

If there’s a problem, I want to fix it.

What your assumptions are and what

PAUL AND SARAH EDWARDS: LIFESTYLES FOR THE MILLENNIUM

MARYANNHALPINPHOTOGRAPHYperson reacts and if you find a resolution tothe problem.

If you operate from the assumption
people are out to bilk you, you are apt to feel
angry and project that in how you communicate. This puts other people on the defensive,
so their reaction may be anger as well.

If, on the other hand, you think people
are having a hard time, you are apt to feel
empathetic. If you operate from this
position, you may be able to negotiate a
payment solution.

If you go into conversations without
any assumptions and are curious about why
you haven’t been paid, you may discover a
problem of some kind that you can remedy,
enabling you to keep the customers and
their goodwill.

This example points to the finding that
assumptions, expectations and definitions
affect everything you experience in your
business and life, from customer relations,
to marketing, and to hiring and managing
your employees.

By paying attention to what your
assumptions are at any given moment, you
can alter your emotional reality, your behavior
and your results. So before making an
important phone call, sending a text or email,
or going into a meeting, take a moment to
think about your assumptions and whether
they will lead you to a desirable outcome. C

• Has a ‘ 50,000-foot view’ that’s oblivi-ous to facts on the ground. Youraverage corporate bureaucrat, in fact.”James adds, “As I interpret the study, thetypical person who ‘dresses for success’ (in thetraditional sense) becomes less self-aware,less intelligent, and less perceptive than if heor she dressed more casually.”While some businesses are moving towardcasual dress and altering draconian dresscodes, suits are still selling and still being worn.

Referring to another study, Pinsker points out,“It takes a long time for symbols and ouragreed interpretations of those symbols tochange, and I wouldn’t expect the suit as a sym-bol of power to be leaving us anytime soon.”How do you see the issue? Email yourresponses to connection@costco.com with“office dress” in the subject line. C